While 74 percent of national listings are affordable to a median-income household, Boston’s share sits at around 50 percent.
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Affordable rental listings nationwide are at their highest share in years, but Boston is still struggling, according to a new Zillow analysis.
The real estate company’s May rental market report found that 74 percent of national listings were affordable to a median-income household, with 8.8 percent of listings priced below $1,000 per month.
Rent prices are continuing to cool after breaking records during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the construction boom that followed eased demands and reduced competition, according to the report. However, not all communities are built equal, so Boston renters might not feel immediate relief from the burdens of the city’s housing climate.
Despite the overall favorable statistics, Boston is among New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Riverside as one of the least affordable metro areas, the analysis states. Compared to the 74 percent national rate of affordable listings, Boston’s rate is about 50.2 percent.
A median-income household would have to spend an average of 30.6 percent of its income on a new rental, according to the report. The “typical” rent, as Zillow calls it, is $3,211, the fourth-highest in the nation behind San Jose, New York, and San Francisco.
For rental listings priced under $1,000 a month, Boston has some of the nation’s slimmest pickings. Only 0.4 percent of listings meet that criteria, tied with Miami, San Diego, and San Jose as the lowest share on Zillow’s list.
The one win that Boston can claim for itself is that the city’s annual rent change isn’t as dramatic as other major cities. Though it’s not the same accomplishment as cities like Houston and Denver, where the typical rent actually decreased, Boston’s 2.5 percent increase means the overall rent is more stable than in cities like Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.
The past few years have proved to be particularly arduous for housing both in Boston and statewide. Last year, Massachusetts earned an F on a Realtor.com housing report for failing to build enough homes and keep them affordable. Only Rhode Island scored worse overall.
Efforts to address housing issues in Boston have proven to be a push-and-pull situation. With many offices switching to hybrid and remote work environments, developers are turning the newly vacant buildings into housing. These transformations have been made possible through the city’s Office-to-Residential Conversion Program, which was extended after it was set to expire at the end of 2025.
On the opposite side of the coin, the Commonwealth’s highest court recently struck down a ballot question that would have allowed voters to enact rent control, which has been banned since 1994. If approved, the proposal would have installed a blanket cap on rent increase limited to the annual increase in the cost of living, with a hard cap at 5 percent.
The proposal’s supporters cited climbing costs and a lack of housing supply to meet demands. Opponents claimed that rent control would worsen the housing crisis by slowing construction and taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
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